


Moving On

by thegizka



Category: DCU, Teen Titans - All Media Types, Titans (Comics)
Genre: Gen, Team Bonding, Team as Family, post-New Teen Titans era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 01:09:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20145082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegizka/pseuds/thegizka
Summary: When Dick moves back to Gotham after the Teen Titans disband, he has difficulty adjusting to working under Batman's direction.  Luckily he has friends who are willing to listen and help him figure out a solution (at least temporarily).Written for Writer's Month 2019 Day 4:  Road Trip.Note:  I do not own these characters.





	Moving On

**Author's Note:**

> I imagined this happening in a timeline where Dick has become Nightwing (since the New Teen Titans have disbanded) but before Jason Todd has become the new Robin.

“It’s just so frustrating!” Dick ranted, stomping across the roof of the Gotham City Concert Hall. “I think I had more freedom as an unstable twelve-year-old than I do now. It’s like he needs to keep an eye on me 24/7. It’s stifling!”

“Maybe he’s just trying to keep you safe,” Donna suggested, sticking a couple of fries in her mouth and pretending her friend’s crisis wasn’t her evening’s entertainment.

“But I don’t need a babysitter anymore. I’m not a kid! And I might not have as much experience at this night job, but I’m pretty sure my track record as Robin and with the Titans deserves a higher vote of confidence.”

“I’m sure he knows this.”

“Then why isn’t he letting me work independently anymore?”

“SorryI’mlate!” A red and yellow blur materialized into Wally West. He pulled off the mask portion of his suit and took a seat next to Donna. “I got distracted by a car chase in Detroit. What am I missing?”

“Batman’s smothering Dick and he’s not happy,” Donna explained, passing him his own extra large order of fries.

“Ah, a classic case of clingy parenting. Have you told him you need space?”

“I shouldn’t need to tell him,” Dick grumbled. “I thought all those years working with you guys in the Teen Titans was me telling him I needed space.”

“Maybe, but you moved back home now, which implies you’re going to live on his terms,” Donna mused. “I mean, Gotham is  _ his _ territory. You know how much of a control freak he is. Of course he’s going to want to tell you exactly what to do.”

“And,” Wally added around a mouthful of fries, “he hasn’t necessarily seen how much you’ve grown and matured while you were away. Parents have this strange tendency to believe their kids are younger and feebler than they actually are. He probably still thinks you’re the wild adolescent he took in a few years ago.”

“But I’m not!”

“Well duh.” Wally rolled his eyes.

“So what am I supposed to do?” Dick growled frustratedly. He kicked at one of the scraps of trash that seemed obligated to be on every Gotham rooftop.

“Move,” Donna said pointedly. “Get out of Gotham. You’ll never get the independence you want here.”

“But this is my home too! I shouldn’t have to leave just because he’s been here longer. Gotham’s a big enough city to host several heroes.”

Wally and Donna exchanged skeptical looks.

“Dude, you haven’t been in Gotham more than three weeks straight for the past four years. Why are you so afraid of moving?”

“I’m not. I just don’t know that it’s the right time. I mean, at the very least this clinginginess has shown me how much Batman still needs a sidekick.”

“He’s hopeless,” Wally muttered, crushing his empty fries carton.

“For Zeus’s sake, Dick! Pick a side,” Donna growled. “Do you want to be the mature adult ready to strike out on his own or the self-sacrificing son sticking around to encourage his father’s dependency issues?”

“I just- I haven’t figured it out yet, okay? You guys might be used to doing things solo, but I prefer being around people who have my back.”

“Is that what this is about?” Donna asked incredulously. “You think we’ve abandoned you because our team disbanded?”

“That’s cold, dude. I mean, what do you call this then? Just a regular old courtesy chat on a dirty rooftop at an unholy hour of the night?”

“No,” Dick sighed. “That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry.”

“We know, dude. Relax. We’re just giving you a hard time.” Wally smiled sympathetically.

“Honestly, there are days when I miss the team or our sidekick eras,” Donna admitted, “but just like our civilian lives, there comes a point where we have to make our own decisions as heroes. We don’t get to stay kids forever.”

Dick turned his back to his friends and gazed out across the Gotham cityscape, a frown on his face. This place was always so dramatic. The shadows were darker than they were in other cities, and lights were either a dim and useless yellow or bright enough to blind. It made him miss the sun and clean air. He’d liked being at Titans Tower. There’d been a lot less lurking, and they’d made most of their plans and decisions together as a team. Could he find that respect and joy in Gotham?

“You know what?” Wally asked suddenly, breaking into his musings. (Dick refused to believe he’d inherited Bruce’s brooding tendency.) “Let’s go on a road trip!”

“And how is that supposed to help me sort things out?”

Wally shrugged.

“Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. But it’ll give you some temporary space from the Bat, and you’ll get to hang out with us for a few weeks.”

“A few weeks?” Donna looked concerned.

“”It’s a road trip. Those things aren’t fast,” he chuckled.

“I have a job, though.”

“As a freelance photographer. Your schedule’s flexible, right? Plus you can take you camera along and get some cool location shots to fill out your portfolio.”

“And what locations do you have in mind?”

“Anywhere!” He spread his arms wide. “The Grand Canyon, the St. Louis Arch, Broadway, whatever! This might be our last big hurrah together before adulthood and jobs and things. So? What do you say?”

The other two exchanged looks. Dick shrugged. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do.

“Alright,” Donna agreed, “on a few conditions.”

“Let’s hear them.”

“No night job stuff. That means no costumes, no cases, and keeping the powers to a minimum. If we’re going to make this an escape from the crazy, we minimize the crazy we bring with us.”

“Fine by me,” Wally agreed.

“My other condition is Roy comes too. It wouldn’t feel right to go without him.”

“Cool. Is that it? I’ll go ask him right now.”

Before either could stop him, Wally zoomed off the roof heading towards Star City.

“How long do you think it’ll take him to convince Roy?” Dick asked. His friend shrugged, gathering up their discarded food wrappers and crushing them into a paper bag.

“Not long. He’s been talking about taking a break for a while. Assuming he thinks he can survive being stuck with us in a car for a few weeks, he’ll be on board.”

They waited in silence for a while, the sounds of sirens and street traffic the backdrop for their thoughts. It had been a while since Dick hadn’t been surrounded by noise. Getting away from it might be nice, or it might be unsettling. He supposed he’d find out.

Wally returned, skidding to a halt and scattering bits of trash around him. He had a big grin on his face and was holding another bag of take-out.

“Roy said yes,” he announced. “Now who wants more fries?”

\-----

When Roy opened his front door five days later, he was met with the flash of a camera.

“Donna come on,” he groaned, but there was amusement in his eyes.

“I have a fondness for candids,” she grinned, snapping another for good measure.

“Between your camera and Wally’s choice of music, I might be driven to murder by the end of this.” He threw a large duffle bag into the back of his truck where several other bags full of camping equipment and luggage were piling up.

“What do you have against Shakira?” Wally demanded, adding a tarp to the pile.

“Nothing, unless she’s on repeat for two and a half hours.”

“But you told me I needed to joke less and be more honest. Hips don’t lie, Roy. You can’t get more honest than that.”

Roy just rolled his eyes and turned to Donna.

“Is Dick back yet?”

“Nope, but we did give him a big shopping list. I’m not sure how he’s going to fit everything on his motorcycle.”

“Want me to run and check on him?” Wally offered.

“No need,” Donna announced, spotting their friend turning onto Roy’s street. She could see shopping bags filling his limited storage and balanced carefully on his bike. Glancing at the already full truck, she wondered where they were going to fit it all, though Wally would probably eat half of it before they pulled out of the driveway.

“They didn’t have any good trail mix,” Dick announced, slipping off his helmet, “but there will be plenty of truck stops and Trader Joe’s along the way so I can pick some up later.”

“Thanks man.” Wally grabbed a few of the bags, but instead of strategically packing them in the truck, he began rifling through them on the hunt for something to eat.

“No cheese puffs,” Roy warned. “I don’t want orange fingerprints all over my interior.”

“Bugles it is, then.”

An hour later, the truck was packed, Dick’s motorcycle was tucked safely into the garage, and they’d managed to claim their seats with minimal arguing.

“Who’s ready for some music?” Dick asked while Roy eased out onto the road. Having won the passenger’s seat, he was responsible for navigational support and road tunes. Hitting play on his phone, the bright horn intro for “Hips Don’t Lie” filtered through the speakers. Wally bit back a giggle. Roy just sighed resignedly.

“If the next song is another Shakira, I am pulling over and kicking both of you out.”

“Oh baby when you talk like that, you make a woman go mad,” Dick sang at him in falsetto. By the end of the song, even Roy was singing along.


End file.
